The second greatest story ever told is about to be retold. The creative collective company 3GI have unveiled its first teaser trailer for the mother of all re-telling, Skrek 2: Retold. This feature-length retelling of Shrek 2 promises to be just as eclectic, bombastic, and infinitely fun as the first Shrek Retold.
The news comes from 3GI, which was accompanied by a teaser trailer. The trailer begins with reminding viewers that Shrek: Retold wasn’t an internet fluke but an actual, full-fledged production, remaking the first Shrek with over 200 storytellers, each segment done entirely by an entirely different artist. The trailer uses the timeless theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as it approaches its peak, clips from Shrek 2: Retold appear, complete with familiar scenes and wildly different interpretations of events, such as bizarre 3D and genuinely well-done animation. The tease concludes and the trailer ends, teasing Shrek 2: Retold as “coming soon.”
Shrek 2: Retold comes from the same team behind Shrekfest, the annual festival of Shrek celebration. In pre-pandemic times, it was held in Madison Wisconsin. Shrekfest is a days-long event that celebrates all things Shrek, including contests and events themed to the Shrek franchise. Since it started, Shrekfest has seen thousands of visitors from across the country and around the world.
The excitement of Shrek 2: Retold comes on the heels of a wonderfully successful first re-telling, in a time where the COVID-19 pandemic still keeps many apart. Shrek: Retold utilized the talents of hundreds of artists, animators, and designers to retell the entire first movie. Shrek: Retold took full advantage of its core format, keeping the story and scenes the same, but allowing the artist free reign to design the scene as they wished. This includes moments, such as using the “Why are you running!?” meme when Donkey is running in the forest. Every scene was done entirely differently, from live-action performances in low-budget customers to psychedelic animation that is macabre and bizarre. The video was uploaded for free in November of 2018. Currently, as of this post, the original Shrek: Retold has 375,000 likes and has been viewed close to 7 million times.
Shrek just celebrated its twentieth anniversary on Tuesday, May 18th, and looking back, it’s incredibly remarkable to have seen the green ogre transform into a symbol. Shrek did see itself become a meme, but through Youtubers, nostalgia, and the ever-reliable word-of-mouth, Shrek became a form of poetry for those seeking friendship and companions. For viewers young and old, Shrek has established itself as an observation that through the strange and twisted ways that the world can appear, there is always an adventure to discover the better parts of ourselves. As said in the titular movie “Onions have layers. Ogres have layers,” an everlasting metaphor to understand the emotional dynamics and complexities of humans in the age of the internet. Moreover, Shrek celebrates that no matter what our own layers are, it is best peeled away to reveal the real all-stars in ourselves and to share that with others, wherever they are and wherever they come from.
